German FM to pay first official visit to Georgia this week to “further strengthen ties”
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Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, will pay her first official visit to Georgia on Thursday to “further strengthen bilateral” ties and discuss the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and related reforms with the country’s top officials, the German Embassy to Georgia announced on Wednesday.
The German FM is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, President Salome Zourabichvili and her Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili while in Tbilisi through Friday.
The meetings will focus on German support for Georgia's rapprochement with the European Union and NATO, as well as respective reforms, said the diplomatic mission.
The aim of the trip is to promote a close and direct exchange between the two countries and to deepen an excellent cooperation for Georgia's European future”, it added.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the FMs would hold face-to-face meetings, followed by a meeting between the countries’ delegations and joint statements of the ministers for the media.
Baerbock will also meet the domestic opposition, civil sector and students before visiting the Administrative Boundary Line separating central Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country.
The European Union Monitoring Mission - the only foreign mission in Georgia observing activities adjacent to the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali - will accompany the German official at the location. Germany is the largest contributor of observers in the Mission.
A programme supporting Georgia’s sustainable and inclusive growth, balanced territorial development and good governance has been launched with the financial support of the European Union and the German Government, with the project worth €9.5 million.
Germany is a country that “actively supports” Georgia's European integration and its aspiration to receive the European Union membership candidate status as soon as possible, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said on Tuesday after a meeting with his German counterpart in Berlin.
The long-standing partnership between Georgia and Germany, the latter’s role in Georgia's democratic and economic development and aspirations for European and Euro-Atlantic integration were discussed by Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Friday.
Close communication and relations with Germany is an “important priority” for the Georgian Government, the Georgian foreign office said on Wednesday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary since the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday hosted his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock during the latter’s first official visit to the country.
The Georgian Air Navigation Agency, a company operating under the country’s Ministry of Economy, on Friday rejected reports by Der Spiegel about complications on the runway of the Tbilisi International Airport forcing the aircraft carrying German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to abandon its first landing run at the facility.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said the European Union flag was “flying not only at protest rallies, but in the hearts of all of us” given the “historical choice” of EU membership by the country’s citizens.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said Georgia-Russia relations were limited to “one international platform” in the form of the Geneva International Discussions on matters related to conflicts on the territory of the country.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is on her first official visit to Georgia, on Friday said Georgian citizens “belong in” the European Union and vowed her country’s support for the country’s European integration.